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Prior to Asil Nadir being ordered to pay £5m compensation to the administrators of his former business empire Polly Peck, it was argued on his behalf that he had not taken part in business during his years in exile from 1993 to 2010.

He claimed to have lived on the generosity of his mother and a girlfriend.

But the judge said: "It is not true that Mr Nadir received no significant income or owned no significant assets since 1993."

Asil Nadir pictured during a court appearance earlier this year Credit: Press Association

Nadir had not helped in revealing his finances but the judge said he did not think he could make an order for the full amount.

He said: "Conscious that I am probably erring on the side of caution and being more generous to the defendant than he deserves, I believe he has the means to pay compensation of £5 million."

Nadir thanked the judge from the dock before being taken away to Belmarsh prison.

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A judge rejected disgraced tycoon Asil Nadir's claims of poverty today and ordered him ordered to pay back £5 million of the money he stole from his Polly Peck business empire - or face a further six years' jail.

Mr Justice Holroyde, sitting at the Old Bailey, said he believed Nadir had money stashed away.

Former fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir, who was jailed for 10 years for stealing £28.8 million from his business empire, claimed he was penniless today.

Asil Nadir pictured last year Credit: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

During a compensation hearing at the Old Bailey, 71-year-old Nadir said he had no assets and was relying on the generosity of friends and family, claims the prosecution called a "sham" and "an affront to common sense".

Nadir was sentenced last month after he was found guilty of 10 charges of theft from Polly Peck that occurred in the late 1980s.

The amount he stole is the equivalent of £61.6 million today.

Nadir returned to the UK two years ago after being on the run for 17 years in Northern Cyprus.